BurmaNet News: May 31, 1995

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Date: Wed, 31 May 1995 20:51:13 -0700
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The BurmaNet News: May 31, 1995
Issue #181
NOTED IN PASSING:
There is a patient Army.
There is an impatient Army.
Choose which you like.
From a letter by a SLORC officer threatening
Karen villages. See <KHRG: SLORC ORDERS TO
VILLAGES IN NEWLY OCCUPIED AREAS, PAPUN
DISTRICT>
REUTERS: U.S. CONGRESSMAN MEETS SENIOR BURMESE GENERAL
ASIAWEEK: TWENTY GREAT ASIANS 1975-1995 [SUU KYI PROFILE]
AUNG SAN: FASCIST BARBARISM
NATION: BORDER TENSION A THAI PLOY, CLAIMS SLORC CHIEF
NATION: SLORC CHIEF TO GO TOUR
KHRG: SLORC ORDERS TO VILLAGES IN NEWLY OCCUPIED AREAS, PAPUN DISTRICT
NATION: CALL FOR FORESTRY COOPERATION
SARGALAY: MY BELOVED BANYAN TREE
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REUTERS: U.S. CONGRESSMAN MEETS SENIOR BURMESE GENERAL
29 May
BANGKOK, Thailand (Reuter) - A U.S. Congressman at the
forefront of efforts to secure the release of Burma's dissident
leader Aung San Suu Kyi met the man regarded as Burma's most
powerful general in Rangoon Monday.
Bill Richardson, who last year became the first person to
meet Suu Kyi since her July 1989 detention with the exception of
immediate family members, was received by Lt.-Gen. Khin Nyunt at
a military guest house, Burma's state-run television reported.
The broadcast, monitored in Bangkok, made no mention of Suu
Kyi or whether Richardson, a New Mexico Democrat, was given
permission to meet her nor did it give any details about what
was discussed.
As well as Khin Nyunt, the head of Burma's military
intelligence service and a senior member of the ruling military
council, Richardson met Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw and other
officials, the televison said.
Richardson, who arrived in Rangoon over the weekend, was
accompanied to the meeting by U.S. embassy officials.
Richardson, met Suu Kyi, the 49-year-old Nobel Peace Prize
laureate and daughter of the assassinated architect of Burma's
independence from Britian, in February last year.
She told him then she was willing to discuss anything with
Burma's ruling military body, the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC), apart from going into exile.
The SLORC has offered to free Suu Kyi on the condition she
leaves the country. She has refused.
Late last year hopes for her release were raised when she
had two meetings with Khin Nyunt and other top generals, the
first in September and the second a month later.
But since then there has been no sign of another meeting and
SLORC leaders told a visiting Thai foreign minister in January
that she would not be released until a new constitution was
drawn up which diplomats say could take several years.
The SLORC recently refused Suu Kyi's husband, British
academic Michael Aris, a visa to visit his wife.
One Rangoon diplomat said it was likely the government was
putting pressure on her to accept freedom under specific terms,
preventing her from getting involved in the political reform
process. She was apparently refusing liberty on those terms.
Suu Kyi rose to prominence in 1988 when she returned to
Burma to nurse her ailing mother. Until then she had been living
in Britain with her husband and their two teen-aged sons.
Swept up in a pro-democracy uprising which exploded that
year, she soon emerged as a charismatic leader of the
opposition.
The National League for Democracy (NLD), which she
co-founded and led before her detention, swept more than 80
percent of the seats in elections on May 27, 1990, but the SLORC
ignored the result and launched a crackdown on all opposition to
military rule.
ASIAWEEK: TWENTY GREAT ASIANS 1975-1995 [SUU KYI PROFILE]
June 2, 1995
As part of its 20th anniversary celebration, Asiaweek profiles
the shapers of the New Asia
THE DISSIDENT
THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE COMMITTEE CALLED HER
"ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY EXAMPLES
OF CIVIL COURAGE IN ASIA.
It is hard to tell when Aung San Suu Kyi finally confirmed that
her fate was bound up with the cause of democracy in her
country. Perhaps it was on July 23, 1988, when strongman Ne
Win announced that he was stepping down after 26 years of
debilitating socialist rule. His surprise retreat triggered a
frenzy of pro-democracy demonstrations. In the ensuing
crackdown, soldiers killed as many as 3,000 people.
Perhaps it was on Aug. 26, 1988, when Suu Kyi addressed a
half-million demonstrators at Shwedagon Pagoda. With the
crowd's chants of "Daw Aye Daw Aye" ("Our Rights! Our
Rights!") ringing in her ears, she called for the resignation of
the government and democracy for Myanmar. On Sept. 18,
the military seized power in another round of bloodletting.
What is clear is that at some point during those fateful months,
Suu Kyi, daughter of Myanmar's independence hero Aung
San, decided to take on the generals. It hardly seemed an even
match: the delicate-boned, 1.6 meter-tall Oxford academic
against soldiers schooled in repression and little else. Yet the
crowds she drew, the attention she commanded and the
courage she displayed and instilled in others, inevitably led to
her becoming the standard-bearer for the fledgling democracy
movement. When two truckloads of troops pulled up and
aimed their weapons at a crowd she was addressing, she could
coolly respond: "We are grateful to those who are giving the
people practice in being brave."
Such spirit was not allowed to go unchecked. In June 1989,
when she was first arrested, 100 unarmed supporters clashed
with police to try to snatch her back. She was detained for
only an hour then. But a month later, the State Law and Order
Restoration Council, or SLORC, as the junta calls itself, put
her under house arrest that persists to this day.
The generals miscalculated if they thought detention would
blunt her appeal. They miscalculated again when they carried
through on their pledge to stage Myanmar's first multiparty
elections in 30 years. Perhaps they thought that with well over
2,000 candidates from at least 100 political parties in the race,
there was little chance of a one-sided result.
But Myanmar's 40 million people were of a single mind. In
the May 1990 polls, Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy won 392 of the 485 parliamentary seats. The mili-
tary-backed National Unity Party won just 10. SLORC
responded by refusing to honor the election results and jailing
NLD leaders, along with most of their elected representatives.
Such flagrant denial of the popular will drew international
condemnation for SLORC, and mounting tributes for the
woman who dared defy them. In October 1991, Suu Kyi was
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Said the Norwegian Nobel
Committee: "Suu Kyi's struggle is one of the most
extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent
decades. She has become an important symbol in the struggle
against oppression."
Suu Kyi did not plan to become a political activist, let alone a
national hero. She had left her home in England to go to
Myanmar's capital, Yangon, in 1988 to look after her ailing
mother. She had spent most of the previous 28 years outside
her homeland, returning just eight times. SLORC tried to use
that against her, saying she was a foreigner with no real
interest in Myanmar. They also criticized her for marrying a
foreigner, Oxford don Michael Aris, a Briton. They have two
children.
But Suu Kyi was very much her father's daughter. Born June
19, 1945, she was barely 2 years old when Gen. Aung San
was gunned down while planning for the country's soon-to-be-granted
independen
ce. He is easily the most revered political
figure in Myanmar history. Suu Kyi was researching a book
on his life when she chanced upon a revolution-in-the making.
She said she wanted to bring her people "freedom from fear."
The simple message she preached matched her own elegance.
"What we want are basic freedoms," she said. "A government
that fails to protect political and democratic rights will never
be able to protect the people's economic rights."
Her jailers cannot bear to speak her name. In interviews, they
refer to Suu Kyi as "the factor" or "the very specific problem."
Problem, yes - and one that literally refuses to go away.
SLORC offered her freedom if she left the country. But the
sparrow - who can be as stubborn in her convictions as the
toughest soldier - chose to remain in her cage, demanding the
military open political talks. "I want to confront them across
the table," she told a visiting U.S. congressman.
This July will see the sixth anniversary of her arrest. For a
time last year, it looked as if a truce might be in the works:
Suu Kyi met with SLORC leaders for what she said was the
first time since her detention began. Two meetings, both tele-
vised, raised hopes that she might be released. Instead, the
only thing raised was the level of rhetoric against her.
By early this year, Suu Kyi was back to being, in SLORC's
words, "the foreigner who should go back to Britain." But the
ongoing detention, meant to remove her as a vocal conscience
and government critic, has served only to ensure that she will
attain a stature rivaling her father's. Once again, the generals
have miscalculated.
Asiaweek, June 2, 1995
AUNG SAN: FASCIST BARBARISM
Posted by Burmese Relief Center--Japan
nbh03114@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In this 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, many
Japanese are presenting themselves as liberators of their fellow
Asians. On the same blood soaked ground, Mon and other
peoples of Burma are again forced to toil to build railroads
(and pipelines). Gen. Aung San's call to resist fascist
barbarism was never more timely.
(Address made by Honorable U Aung San, Deputy Chairman.
Counsellor to Governor of Burma and Deputy President of the
Burma Executive Council at the Memorial Ceremony for the
men who died in captivity at work on the Burma-Siam railway
(1942-45) held at Thanbyuzayat, Burma on December 18,
1946.)
FASCIST BARBARISM
Four years ago or so, war came to our country. And with it
Japanese military fascism. Then in order to feed its war
machine, our people were made to suffer and slave in various
untold ways. Tens of thousands of our country people were
forcibly sent to work on the Burma-Siam Railway and from
30,000 to 80,000 of them died in the most callous
circumstances imaginable. We are now treading the ground
which buried underneath the curses and groans of those
thousands of dead. We enter upon this ground seared by this
colossal tragedy with profound feeling and searching thoughts.
We are filled with bitter sorrow that it should ever have
happened. And we burn with sheer indignation over such
wrongs as had been wrought by the Japanese Fascist
barbarians against our nation and humanity Nevertheless we
may take comfort in the fact that Nemesis had already taken
them to task. Our people also had risen as a man and avenged
themselves on the Fascists. This is but an inevitable and
inexorable law of Karma--that as a man sows so shall he reap
and that if any individual or nation oppresses or exploits
another and violates natural and social justice in that way that
individual or nation shall pay for that sin against justice and
humanity. The world has thus been visited upon several times
for so much that men and nations have sinned against one
another. So long as injustice and oppression and exploitation
of man by man and nation by nation continue the world must
come time and again to fall into the grips of Nemesis. This
then is the stem moral law which events have impressed upon
the world so emphatically, and this is how I read the writing on
the wall and the signs of the times.
To-day, when we have come here in revered memory of those
thousands of our countrymen and Allied Personnel who verily
were made to slave to death, we all must have felt that never
never again may the world find a place for the existence of
human slavery and exploitation in any form. As we offer our
prayers in our sacred communion with the souls of those dead,
we must pray not merely for them but for the world that
humanity may rise above all limitations and find deliverance
none too long. And as thus we pray, let us also vow to
ourselves that we will not rest and remain complacent till we
have completely rid this earth of such cancer of Fascist
barbarity, whatever its variants as degrade humanity and
perpetuate oppression and exploitation.
published by Sarpay Beikman, 1st printing, 1971, circulation
24,000
NATION: BORDER TENSION A THAI PLOY, CLAIMS SLORC CHIEF
29,.5.95/The Nation
Agence France -Presse
Rangoon - Recent tension on the Thai-Burmese border is the result of
a " political ploy" by Thai politicians to "divert " the attention of
the Thai people from a political crisis, according to the most
powerful Burmese junta official .
The state-owned New Light of Myanmar yesterday quoted Lt Gen Khin
Nyunt as saying that " some Thai politicians traditionally turn to
diversionary tactics whenever they face an unstable political
situation."
Khin Nyunt, the first secretary of the State Law and Order Restoration
Council [Slorc] the official name for the Burmese regime, made remarks
Saturday during a speech to a group of teachers graduating from an
ideological training course at the Phaunggyi Central Political
Institute near here.
Khin Nyunt reportedly said some Thai politicians had purposely created
problems at the common border and putting the blame on their military
in an attempt to divert Thai people's attention from the shaky
political situation.
Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, faced with a disintegrating
coalition government and a no-confidence debate, dissolved parliament
on May 19 and called snap elections for July 2.
The Burmese Army had been accused of armed aggression , Khin Nyunt
said.
"Such border problems were created by the ' self-seeking 'Thai
politicians and were aided and abetted by the foreign media, some non-
government organizations ill-will against Slorc ," he said.
The ploy failed because of the firm friendship and strong ties between
the Burmese and Thai armed forces, he said.
" The problems had not grown big due to the existing good
relations and mutual understanding between the two armed forces," he
said.
The military here has categorically denied its forces entered Thai
territory and rejected charges of having caused the split among the
Karen National Union .
NATION: SLORC CHIEF TO GO TOUR
29.5.95/The Nation
Rangoon - General Than Shwe, chairman of Burma's ruling military
junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council , will make visits
to Indonesia and Singapore "in the near future", it was announced
yesterday.
Burmese political analysts said the visits were significant milestones
in the Rangoon junta's campaign to gain international legitimacy.
United Press International.
KHRG: SLORC ORDERS TO VILLAGES IN NEWLY OCCUPIED AREAS, PAPUN DISTRICT
SET 95-B
An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
May 1, 1995 / KHRG #95-14
Since December 1994, SLORC has been conducting a widespread offensive
west of the Salween River to occupy northern Karen State's Papun
District [see the related reports "SLORC's Northern Karen Offensive",
KHRG 29/3/95, and "Porters: SLORC's Salween Offensive", KHRG
8/4/95]. In the process, SLORC forces have occupied areas which
were previously strongly under the control of the Karen National
Union, such as the Kyauk Nyat area not far south of the Kayah
State border. Some fighting is still going on in the area. Many
villages have been destroyed by advancing SLORC troops and thousands
of refugees have flooded into Thailand. Those who remain are
now getting their first taste of SLORC rule. The SLORC written
orders translated in this report are SLORC's way of introducing
itself to the local villagers. These orders were signed and sent
to villages by a SLORC column commander. Some village names have
been blacked out (denoted by 'xxxx') to protect them. Photocopies
of the original orders are available on request. Please feel
free to use this report in any way which may help the peoples
of Burma, but do not pass it on to any SLORC representatives.
____________________________________________________________________
__________
Order #1
To all the villagers
If the Army camp calls you, come.
If the Army asks your help, help.
Other villagers have already started helping.
If the villagers help the Army, the Army will help them in return.
If the insurgents in the jungle who are armed do not make peace,
this means they are the ones giving trouble to the villagers.
There is a patient Army.
There is an impatient Army.
Choose which you like.
[Sd.]
Lieutenant Colonel
Column Commander, 31/1 [31/1/95]
Order #2
2-2-95
To
Village Head
xxxx village
Subject: Rotating duty for servants
1) In order to carry supplies for the [army] column in Kyauk
Nyat area, your village and village group have to send 20 servants
on rotating basis to Kyauk Nyat army camp starting on February
7, 1995, we hereby inform you.
2) If the servants comply with their duty, the Army will help
them in return. If you fail to help with what the Army needs,
that will be your responsibility, gentlemen.
3) Therefore we beg of you to discuss among yourselves and to
try to send the servants, rotating for 7 days each, we hereby
inform you.
4) To Wi Der village group and Wah Ko Der village group are carrying
out rotating servant duties for the other [army] column.
[Sd.]
Lieutenant Colonel
(Column Commander)
Order #3
[This letter was sent to a village after a landmine exploded in
the area.]
31-1-95
To:
The in-charge of the village
- We are being patient for this time.
- For the next time, if you do any shooting or landmining we will
burn you down (your whole village will be destroyed), we hereby
inform you.
- KNU and ABSDF, make peace or we will uproot you and fight you
together with DKBO/DKBA (Democratic Karen Buddhist Organization
/ Association [sic: Army]), we hereby inform you.
- now your village head, come and contact the column (or) Kyauk
Nyat camp (or) Pan Hai camp (or) northern Kayah State battalion
urgently.
- For now, we only saw an old man so we took him. Village head,
come and apologize and take him back.
- U Saw Blu Maung from Papun was killed by the Thay Way Heh group's
landmine [Thay Way Heh is a local Karen Army lieutenant]. His
family is asking for compensation, so go to Papun and pay it.
- We didn't lay mines around the village, because we don't want
to make trouble for female/male villagers, buffalos and cattle.
We haven't done anything to the village. (This is our last
forgiving.)
- The village heads, collect 1 or 2 village elders and 5 villagers
from this side [area], and go to Papun.
Let Bo Eh Doh make peace. [Bo Eh Doh is a Karen Army company commander
in the area]
(Wishing all to stay tranquilly with darling wife and daughter),
[Sd.]
Lieutenant Colonel
[Notes: there was a landmine explosion in the area, and there
is still Karen Army (KNLA) activity there. This order effectively
warns local Karen villagers that they are to be blamed for any
and all KNLA actions and face SLORC's retaliation. Despite claiming
to be patient "for this time", the Lieutenant Colonel admits that
they have already arrested an old man and are holding him until
villagers "apologize" for the landmine. U Saw Blu Maung was not
a SLORC soldier, but a Karen from Papun, almost certainly a villager
who had been taken as a SLORC porter for their operations in the
Kyauk Nyat area along the Salween River. He may have been sent
in front of their troops as a human minesweeper when he was killed
by the landmine. The local villagers, who had nothing to do with
the incident, are to be forced to pay "compensation" for him.]
Order #4
31-1-95
To
Village Heads
Now, we Army are attempting to get peace. In order to develop
all areas, Army (troops and columns) will often go in and out.
Therefore, in order that all armed insurgents (KNU + ABSDF ...)
and all young and old villagers can live in peace and to begin
development, notify them that we invite them to cooperate with
the Army or show them this letter.
For the future - if the villagers around the area contact, support
or protect the armed insurgents, the Army will solve that by strength
of force.
The Army never even put a freckle on the skin of the villages,
farms in the forest or other property. Villagers, don't run away
in the future. If you run, we are not going to take responsibility
for what is lost or damaged. [The expression "never put a freckle
on the skin" means "never did a bit of harm". "What is lost or
damaged" is written to imply both lives and property.]
Continuously comply with the following, by order of the Strategic
Commander from Papun -
- 2 village heads and 5 villagers from villages in To Si Der and
To Wi Der village groups, as soon as you have received this letter
start to get ready to collect people from villages [for labour],
and go to see the Strategic Command Commander not later than 3/2/95.
(In order that you should not fail for any reason, the Strategic
Command Commander himself now informs you that if you don't go,
responsibility for that will fall on whoever doesn't go.)
Matters of peace and development in the villages
In order to begin, report what you need. Warn and notify the
following villages: 1) To Wi Der, 2) Wah Ko Der, 3) Pay Ploh Kee,
4) Toe Kaw Kee, 5) Naw Sa Da - and other villages. 1) Chaw
Pweh Der, 2) Kyot Ko Der, 3) Meh Saw Kee, 4) Kee Po Der, 5) Lay
Ain Zu --- and the village leaders from other villages, must
go without fail.
[Sd.]
Lieutenant Colonel
(Column Commander)
[Note: While this implies that SLORC will provide some of the
"needs" of the villagers for development, experience throughout
Burma shows that this is very unlikely. It is more likely that
the Army will report its needs (in terms of forced labour) to
the village leaders.]
NATION: CALL FOR FORESTRY COOPERATION
31.5.95/The Nation
Rangoon -Burma's Ministry of Forestry is calling for greater
regional cooperation to tackle deforestation and the smuggling of
timber and endangered species ,Burma's state-run media reported
yesterday.
Lt Gen Chit Swe told a United Nations-sponsored forestry seminar
on Monday that Burma's annual timber harvest was now about three
million cubic metres , 25 per cent of which was teak and the
remainder consisting of other hardwoods .
Burma, one of the world's biggest exporters of timber including
top- quality teak, still has 33 million hectares [ 81.5 million
acres] of forest cover, according to official statistics.
Reuter
SARGALAY: MY BELOVED BANYAN TREE
A satire by - Sargalay
It is said that true beauty of a tree is appreciated only from a
distance - not by sitting under it. Thus, with great reluctance but
in good faith, I decided to spread my tiny wings and took flight to
a distant Gum tree. Seasons came and went, and how greatly I miss
my bosom mates who remained at Banyanville. We keep in touch through
mail. I send them post cards with pictures of gorgeous looking birds
from Bondi beach. In return they send me "sargalay-chee" to
complement my avidity to local beverages, and medicinally potent
"birds' vomitus" for my sagging vitality. King Rhesus doesn't appear
to miss me much though. He reckons I am bad influence to the youth and
my legs are too hairy on public TV. Time is too precious for big shots
like King Rhesus anyway. There are much better things to do in his
life than to bother with a half-wit, bald headed sparrow. Sipping
"King of Kings" on the rocks after a tiring day at the golf-course,
sounds more enticing.
Captain Frog sent me a lengthy letter a few weeks after I arrived.
He and his green cronies have come a long way since being promoted
from a cesspool pond nearby. All have attained quite high ranking
positions. Once, believed to be rare species with low IQs, these
opportunistic amphibian reptiles have proliferated to an extent that
many peace loving creatures living in the vicinity have become
dangerously threatened. If not busy licking King Rhesus' facial and
gluteal cheeks, these tongue-toting fellas are omnipresent
discharging incredible responsibilities. Where would Banyanville be
today without these multi-talented creatures who can handle anything
from M-16s to multiple ministerial duties with such dexterity and
finesse? They even come up with the most inappropriate tasks like
croaking crap into microphones and cutting ribbons at televised
functions. Some who accompany King Rhesus and his entourage can hold
those golf umbrellas all day showing no signs of fatigue - come rain
come shine. Such remarkable stamina and versatility.
I take my "Khamauk" off (inadvertently exposing my
hairless head) in acknowledgement for such illustrious feats. For all
this hard work, they all eventually get rewarded handsomely with
niceties like "Padone-mar" flowers and other perquisites. Then, we
have those strong minded hornets in their nests scattered around the
peripheries. They dedicate their lives among many other good causes,
in making life of those tree-climbing branch-hopping animals
extremely uneasy. Now and again, they venture out and stick their
barbs into King Rhesus' big red bottom, especially during the dry
seasons. But nowadays U Panda, our big brother from the north-east
and a distant relative of King Rhesus, will volunteer to throw in a
complimentary crate of pineapples during such conflicts. King Rhesus
and his rat-pack reptiles will then utilise these fruits with
ruthless military precision.
No one talks about today's booming economy in Banyanville without
mentioning Mg B'yine - the slick stork, with a flair for acquiring
greenbacks and BMWs. This dude shuttles home and abroad donning fancy
Giordanos and Nike Airs. He tugs hoards of miscellaneous booty with
him during trips, and has remarkable talent converting them into US
dollars. During his spare time he also keeps a tab on H.E.'s Swiss
accounts. (For all you poor souls out there, who obviously never
worked among diplomatic circles, wondering what on earth - "H.E."
stands for, - it stands for "His Excellency" . . . ok?). "Dollar is
the name and dollar is the game - Ko Sargalay!" said this cool cookie
to me one day, while signing off another shipment of timber. Thanks
to him. Almost every sod who is hooked on this money spinning game
suffers from the "Dollar-$quint" or the "dollar-six-slant" as they
call it in Banyanville. Some severe cases develop "Uncle
Scrooge-stare." Consequently they all become terribly short sighted,
and cannot see beyond 24hrs.
The fishy otter brothers haven't changed a bit. They personally
ensure that the freshest catch of the day reaches Miss Siamese Cat's
dining table on the dot. By the way, she is rumoured to be having a
secret affair with King Rhesus . . . (but don't quote me). Under the
auspices of King Rhesus and his family of frogs, Banyanville is
sub-served by a shameless clan of lizards, ghekkos and chameleons who
totter up and down the tree trunk. They nod at everything that croaks
and caws in sight. They also possess an extraordinary ability to make
and take a lot of bull without batting an eyelid, but can change their
strongest convictions in a split-second blink . . . (I'll keep my
"khamauk" on this time).
I had a long distance call from Ma Oh'wai the other day. Her plumage
is fading due to pollution that has doubled since the day I left. In
a choking voice she gave her heart wrenching story about how the land
and trees have become so barren and bare. Many flora and fauna are
close to extinction, yet King Rhesus and Company ignore her pleas and
continue to plunder. Meanwhile, crows and vultures from the
neighbourhood have joined the carnage. Feeling sick in my stomach, I
passed on Oh'wai's call to my good mate Koala and they went on
discussing about the depleting ozone layer. Just as the line was
about to be disconnected, I managed to congratulate Aunty Pig for her
recent participation in the "Rangoon-Runs" marathon. Her involuntary
involvement allowed her to lose sixteen kilos and a sixty-carat ruby
ring. But this achievement is short-lived by her incorrigible habit
of gate-crashing those weekend weddings at the Inya-lake.
Later in the day I called my cousin "sparrow-monk" to send me some
more of his recorded sermons. Apparently he was out watching a soccer
match and I ended up listening to his recorded message instead.
For a migratory bird, I haven't fared so badly. Back home,
authorities will agree to grant clemency for a distasteful act I
committed one summer while resting atop U Wisara - provided 20% of
my monthly income find its way home. Now, c'mon guys, isn't that
penalty too harsh for a sick sparrow who just happened to be
suffering from food poisoning at 12noon with no public loo in sight?
Here in the land of Gum trees and Kookaburras, my expertise in
picking up horoscopic sticks and scrolls is greatly appreciated among
the superstitious orientals. It's getting pretty hard to keep up with
such demand and my beaks are becoming bloody sore.
As I perch delicately on these aromatic euclyptic branches, I look
on helplessly, midst the changing hues of sunset, at my Beloved
Banyan tree. Her beauty still exudes in spite of her blemished bark
and wilting foliage. Ma Oh'wai's frantic calls from a distance, urge
me to return to my original habitat. But hesitancy prevails whenever
I imagine myself in the sights of a mighty cannon that is pointed at
my face.
SARGALAY
1st January 1995
Addendum:
Head nodding lizards = "Yes" men
Aiming a cannon towards a meek sparrow = Overkill
"Padone-mar" (yk"krRm) = an exclusive shopping place for Rangoon
government's elite society.
Hand grenades are also known as pineapples.
Oh'wai is the crying sound of a peacock - the bird that Burmese
identify with unity and defiance.
"U -Wisara" is the famous monk-statue situated on a minaret near
Shwedagon.
"Sparrow-monk" = (pmAkef;_uD;) = literal translation
"Rangoon-Runs" = infective diarrhoea
"Khamauk" (carmuf) = peasants' hat made from ?toddy leaves.
"sargalay-chee" (pmuav;_cD;) = sparrow's droppings = description of
a popular Indian snack
"Inya-Lake" = famous hotel of Rangoon
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NEWS SOURCES REGULARLY COVERED/ABBREVIATIONS USED BY BURMANET:
------------------------------------------------------------
ABSDF-DNA: ALL BURMA STUDENT'S DEMOCRATIC FRONT [DR. NAING
AUNG]
ABSDF-MTZ: ALL BURMA STUDENT'S DEMOCRATIC FRONT [MOE THEE ZUN]
AMNESTY: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
AP: ASSOCIATED PRESS
AFP: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
AW: ASIAWEEK
Bt.: THAI BAHT; 25 Bt. EQUALS US$1 (APPROX),
BBC: BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION
BF: BURMA FORUM
BKK POST: BANGKOK POST (DAILY NEWSPAPER, BANGKOK)
BRC-CM: BURMESE RELIEF CENTER-CHIANG MAI
BRC-J: BURMESE RELIEF CENTER-JAPAN
CPPSM:C'TEE FOR PUBLICITY OF THE PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE IN MONLAND
FEER: FAR EAST ECONOMIC REVIEW
GOA: GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIA
IRRAWADDY: NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY BURMA INFORMATION GROUP
KHRG: KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP
KNU: KAREN NATIONAL UNION
Kt. BURMESE KYAT; UP TO 105-120 KYAT-US$1 BLACK MARKET
100 KYAT US$1-SEMI-OFFICIAL
6 KYAT-US$1 OFFICIAL
MOA: MIRROR OF ARAKAN
MNA: MYANMAR NEWS AGENCY (SLORC)
THE NATION: A DAILY NEWSPAPER IN BANGKOK
NCGUB: NATIONAL COALITION GOVERNMENT OF THE UNION OF BURMA
NLM: NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR (DAILY STATE-RUN NEWSPAPER,RANGOON)
NMSP: NEW MON STATE PARTY
RTA:REC.TRAVEL.ASIA NEWSGROUP
RTG: ROYAL THAI GOVERNMENT
SCB:SOC.CULTURE.BURMA NEWSGROUP
SCT:SOC.CULTURE.THAI NEWSGROUP
SEASIA-L: S.E.ASIA BITNET MAILING LIST
SLORC: STATE LAW AND ORDER RESTORATION COUNCIL
TAWSJ: THE ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL
UPI: UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
USG: UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
XNA: XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
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